Thread by @dnystedt

TSMC Arizona has turned into a Chinese Communist Party (CCP, China) talking point, with scary stories daily.

Example:
“The U.S. is turning TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co) into ASMC (American SMC)," and no Taiwan politician dares say no to the U.S.

Thread 1/9 $TSM

2/9
It looks like a CCP effort to hurt U.S.-Taiwan relations.

What’s most disappointing is the lack of creativity – the perpetrators clearly know little about the semiconductor industry.
#semiconductor $TSM

3/9 Taiwan’s semiconductor industry began in the 1960s, about when the CCP made it a priority.

But where the CCP failed, Taiwan flourished.

Taipei built a vibrant ecosystem, and a number of global powerhouses. Its lead isn’t going away anytime soon.

Let’s count ’em down.

4/9
No. 1: TSMC: biggest chip foundry in the world, also the inventor of this disruptive business model.

No. 1: TSMC: global leader in semiconductor manufacturing technology.

No. 1 (forecast) TSMC to be the 2022 revenue leader, beating #Samsung and Intel. $INTC $TSM

5/9
No. 1: ASE Technology, the biggest OSAT, chip assembly/test firm in the world. ASE is over 3x bigger than US-rival, Amkor.

No. 2: WPG Holdings: 2nd biggest chip distributor, behind US-rival Arrow Electronics
$ASX #semiconductor

6/9
No. 3: GlobalWafers, the 3rd biggest silicon wafer maker, behind Japan’s Shin-Etsu and Sumco.

No. 3: UMC, the 3rd top foundry, then Powerchip 7th and Vanguard 8th.

No. 4: MediaTek, the 4th biggest chip designer, behind the US’s Qualcomm, Nvidia, Broadcom. $QCOM $NVDA $AVGO

7/9
No. 4: Powertech (PTI) in OSAT, followed by No. 7, 8, 9 KYEC, ChipMOS and Chipbond.

No. 4: WT Micro, in chip distribution, followed by No. 5 Supreme Electronics

No. 6: Novatek is 6th in chip design, then Realtek in 8th and Himax in 10th place.

The list goes on.

8/9
Taiwan exported a record high US$155.5 billion worth of semiconductors in 2021, a year global sales hit US$556 billion.

#semiconductor #semiconductors

9/9
Fears Taiwan may lose its edge in semiconductors are overdone. It's an industry where expertise accumulates over time. There is tremendous talent in Taiwan, and it will remain vital for decades to come.

https://twitter.com/dnystedt/status/1528902326903513088

Lots of comments.

A few:

-‘All he did was list a bunch of companies’

-This Thread ‘DOESN’T refute the point U.S. is taking’ TSMC.

Challenge Accepted

Thread 1/8

2/8
TSMC spent nearly US$100 billion to build new semiconductor fabs, land etc. (capex) from 2010-2020, mostly in Taiwan.

TSMC will spend over US$200 billion on capex from 2020-2030, mostly in Taiwan.
$TSM #semiconductors

3/8
The cost of cutting edge fabs keeps going up.

All of TSMC’s latest ‘nanometer’ fabs are being built in Taiwan first.

Cost estimate
3nm fab $20 billion
2nm fab $25 billion
1nm fab $32 billion
$TSM

4/8
TSMC projects show the path to over $200 billion:

All in Taiwan
Tainan – N3 and N3E GigaFab
Hsinchu – N3 Fab
Hsinchu (Baoshan) – N2 GigaFab
Taichung (Central Taiwan Science Park) – N2 Fab
Taoyuan (Longtan Science Park) – N1 Fab
Kaohsiung – 2 fabs N7 fab and 28nm fab

5/8
How we know about these projects:

TSMC is a big company. It plans a decade ahead.

The paper trail:
-Science Park land requests/filings
-EPA filings/assessments
-National Science Council
-Executive Yuan

6/8

There is your evidence.

The 2020-2030 spending estimate is my own.